Customer Reviews

Djinn

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Melechesh is a band that has succesfully created a new style of black metal. Their new album Djinn incorporates mediterranean melodies with extreme metal music. The whole concept of Melechesh is facinating, from the album title "Djinn" to the imagery and lyrics. Each song has a unique touch to it, yet all the songs are mold into a whirlwind of unified identity. The guitarist offer a magnificent array of riffs that are creative and have a Slayerish feel. The drums are performed by Proscriptor (Also drummer of Absu). In Djinn he display his ability to play mediterranian drum structures. This album shall remain in my CD player for a loooooooooong time....

Good recording, but not nearly as fine of recording as the newest one. The intrigue of this group lies in the rhythms and scales they play. Quite creative, actually.

For anyone that never hear anything about Melechesh (to be pronounce Melekesh), well this sound like nothing. For me it is Black metal, with a mesopotamian style and rhythm, it is really symphonic with great musician.
P.S. The CD version OPCD 109 is PC protected so you can have trouble is you only have a PC (no trouble with an Mac OS). Maybe Osmose production will release another version without that. Note that the CD Sphynx is newer and have some gear on the cd for the computer.. and is also from Osmose.

Skip this review if you're deep into the Black/Death/Speed Metal genres; I'm only writing for other fans of more general Metal who, like me, may be wondering what this newer band, Melechesh has to offer.

My definition of great Metal: If upon hearing it, you have the uncontrollable urge to pick up a sledge hammer & smash something! No better classic comes to mind than Bruce Dickinson's scream during the opening segment of Iron Maiden's 1982 trophy, "The Number of the Beast". Don't expect any such moments of greatness on Melechesh's "Djinn". Its chief downfall is its vocals--typical growling for this genre, but with too much strain & not enough rhythm.

The lead singer, Ashmedi, seems indifferent to the guitars; he sounds like an angry Bon Scott (AC/DC's pioneer frontman). Angry, I can only presume, because he can't quite find the right word, the right note, the right melody, the right anything. He also takes credit for most of the lyrics & lead guitarwork herein, & again, there's nothing memorable or outstanding.

Al' Hazred's bass is indistinguishable, & Proscriptor's drumwork sounds like that of your typical highschool garage band's lo-fidelity tapes. The first thing Melechesh's sound quality reminded me of was Judas Priest's 1973 debut LP, "Rocka Rolla". Since "Djinn" is their 2nd major release, it's unfortunate they didn't spend a few extra dollars to give their recording some beef & some bite.

"Whispers from the Tower" is an acoustic prelude to "Genies, Sorcerers & Mesopotamian Nights"--the reason I rate this CD with one star. Its guitar opens like the classic Judas Priest track, "Exciter", & it's the only track on the CD with decent-sounding drums, a bass track with a little punch, & an interesting octave-shifting rhythm riff.

"A Summoning of Ifrit & Genii" struggles for over 7 monotonous minutes & goes nowhere--no melody, no power, no nothing. Just repetitive, childish urgings of "You are mine!" Hardly.

"WarDjinn" is more of the same, but more tolerable at a compact 5 minutes.

"Rub the Lantern" drags along for a minute, then produces about 10 seconds of interesting, Eastern-sounding keyboards. It's too bad they didn't develop an epic around this section. The rest of the song resembles Metal Church's 1985 theme song, but not nearly as good due to poor, strained vocals. I feel sorry for any Melechesh fan who hasn't heard "Metal Church".

"Covering the Sun" kicks & rocks during its first 2 minutes until the singing starts, then it slows down & becomes boring with dumb lyrics that suggest a conjuring of Sennacherib's spirit, indulged by Ashmedi as "Assyrian king of kings". Towards the end, you'll hear a few seconds worth of vocals reminiscent of Rob Halford's trademark banshee screech near the end of the Judas Priest classic, "Screaming for Vengeance", but with only a fraction of the intensity.

"Kurnugi's Reign" proclaims a fictitious ruler in this bouncy but vegetarian tune. The drummer takes the blame for the lyrics on this one: "7 hexes 7 philters charming 7 curses 7 nights for the crimson water for the water of time for the sacrament for the proper rites." Instead of naming himself Proscriptor, he should've gone with Prepositionor!

"Oasis of Molten Gold" = 100% off-key Speed Metal, in complete contradiction to the title, but guaranteed to satisfy Speed lovers who can ignore the senseless lyrics.

"Dragon's Legacy" kicks & rocks at times also (by far the most energetic offering on the CD), but again, it's ruined by offbeat vocals & stupid lyrics (e.g., we're told of "the greatness" of the dragon's legacy, but we're never told what that greatness is).

"The Siege of Lachish" has a catchy rhythm, but it gets old after a few minutes. After 6 & a half minutes it plunges into 3 minutes of absolute dead time--yes, silence. I suppose Ashmedi was simply at a loss for words. Melechesh members need to spend a little time in a library--even from a pagan perspective, there are tons of interesting details surrounding the historic Assyrian siege of Lachish they could've incorporated into their lyrics. Go to the British Museum & stare at Sennacherib's palace reliefs for a few minutes, & imagine what that must've been like--some men being skinned alive, others being impaled in agony & shame, the rest pleading for their lives. A song this long (11 minutes) also needs a decent lead guitar solo to break the monotony. After the 3-minute blank, it concludes with 2 minutes of redundant backwards masking. A disappointing ending. I would've given this CD 2 stars if they had trimmed this song down to a tight 5 minutes, but as it stands, it's an insult.

I've heard a track from "Sphynx", their follow-up to "Djinn", & Melechesh show significant improvement--a much meatier tone, with powerful, tight rhythm tracks. I'd recommend you start with that CD, & then come back to this one only if they truly capture your soul. The only good thing about a kidstuff CD like this is that after listening to it, the next time you hear great metal bands like Savatage & Slayer, you'll think you died & went to Heaven!

By the way, I encountered no technical problems playing this Osmose CD on my PC.

Skip this review if you're deep into the Black/Death/Speed Metal genres; I'm only writing for other fans of more general Metal who, like me, may be wondering what this newer band, Melechesh has to offer.

My definition of great Metal: If upon hearing it, you have the uncontrollable urge to pick up a sledge hammer & smash something! No better classic comes to mind than Bruce Dickinson's scream during the opening segment of Iron Maiden's 1982 trophy, "The Number of the Beast". Don't expect any such moments of greatness on Melechesh's "Djinn". Its chief downfall is its vocals--typical growling for this genre, but with too much strain & not enough rhythm.

The lead singer, Ashmedi, seems indifferent to the guitars; he sounds like an angry Bon Scott (AC/DC's pioneer frontman). Angry, I can only presume, because he can't quite find the right word, the right note, the right melody, the right anything. He also takes credit for most of the lyrics & lead guitarwork herein, & again, there's nothing memorable or outstanding.

Al' Hazred's bass is indistinguishable, & Proscriptor's drumwork sounds like that of your typical highschool garage band's lo-fidelity tapes. The first thing Melechesh's sound quality reminded me of was Judas Priest's 1973 debut LP, "Rocka Rolla". Since "Djinn" is their 2nd major release, it's unfortunate they didn't spend a few extra dollars to give their recording some beef & some bite.

"Whispers from the Tower" is an acoustic prelude to "Genies, Sorcerers & Mesopotamian Nights"--the reason I rate this CD with one star. Its guitar opens like the classic Judas Priest track, "Exciter", & it's the only track on the CD with decent-sounding drums, a bass track with a little punch, & an interesting octave-shifting rhythm riff.

"A Summoning of Ifrit & Genii" struggles for over 7 monotonous minutes & goes nowhere--no melody, no power, no nothing. Just repetitive, childish urgings of "You are mine!" Hardly.

"WarDjinn" is more of the same, but more tolerable at a compact 5 minutes.

"Rub the Lantern" drags along for a minute, then produces about 10 seconds of interesting, Eastern-sounding keyboards. It's too bad they didn't develop an epic around this section. The rest of the song resembles Metal Church's 1985 theme song, but not nearly as good due to poor, strained vocals. I feel sorry for any Melechesh fan who hasn't heard "Metal Church".

"Covering the Sun" kicks & rocks during its first 2 minutes until the singing starts, then it slows down & becomes boring with dumb lyrics that suggest a conjuring of Sennacherib's spirit, indulged by Ashmedi as "Assyrian king of kings". Towards the end, you'll hear a few seconds worth of vocals reminiscent of Rob Halford's trademark banshee screech near the end of the Judas Priest classic, "Screaming for Vengeance", but with only a fraction of the intensity.

"Kurnugi's Reign" proclaims a fictitious ruler in this bouncy but vegetarian tune. The drummer takes the blame for the lyrics on this one: "7 hexes 7 philters charming 7 curses 7 nights for the crimson water for the water of time for the sacrament for the proper rites." Instead of naming himself Proscriptor, he should've gone with Prepositionor!

"Oasis of Molten Gold" = 100% off-key Speed Metal, in complete contradiction to the title, but guaranteed to satisfy Speed lovers who can ignore the senseless lyrics.

"Dragon's Legacy" kicks & rocks at times also (by far the most energetic offering on the CD), but again, it's ruined by offbeat vocals & stupid lyrics (e.g., we're told of "the greatness" of the dragon's legacy, but we're never told what that greatness is).

"The Siege of Lachish" has a catchy rhythm, but it gets old after a few minutes. After 6 & a half minutes it plunges into 3 minutes of absolute dead time--yes, silence. I suppose Ashmedi was simply at a loss for words. Melechesh members need to spend a little time in a library--even from a pagan perspective, there are tons of interesting details surrounding the historic Assyrian siege of Lachish they could've incorporated into their lyrics. Go to the British Museum & stare at Sennacherib's palace reliefs for a few minutes, & imagine what that must've been like--some men being skinned alive, others being impaled in agony & shame, the rest pleading for their lives. A song this long (11 minutes) also needs a decent lead guitar solo to break the monotony. After the 3-minute blank, it concludes with 2 minutes of redundant backwards masking. A disappointing ending. I would've given this CD 2 stars if they had trimmed this song down to a tight 5 minutes, but as it stands, it's an insult.

I've heard a track from "Sphynx", their follow-up to "Djinn", & Melechesh show significant improvement--a much meatier tone, with powerful, tight rhythm tracks. I'd recommend you start with that CD, & then come back to this one only if they truly capture your soul. The only good thing about a kidstuff CD like this is that after listening to it, the next time you hear great metal bands like Savatage & Slayer, you'll think you died & went to Heaven!